The Sweets Shop
by Black.Rose.Authoress
Summary: A look at Valentine's Days throughout the years for the residents (or eventual residents) of Pleasantville... Gen!flip AU. Part of the Pleasantville Series.
1. Chapter 1: 1996

A/N: So it was apparently 3 years ago when I did my last Valentine's Day event (I literally thought it was last year, omg xD). So it's about time we do another one! So I asked for advice on what sort of event to do this year and got 2 ideas, one involving a look at past Valentine's Days growing up and one involving sweets. And I like both, so we're gonna do both! I'm going to try to do a fic a day until Valentine's Day (or possibly even for the week afterwards, we'll see), but that'll obviously depend on time constraints and work and such.

* * *

**The Sweets Shop**

**Part 1: Valentine's Day 1996**

All right, Leni was pretty sure she'd remembered everything. Ludwig had been changed and his milk was in the fridge, ready for his next meal in a couple of hours. All of the emergency numbers were written down on the chalkboard by the phone, including the number of the restaurant they'd be visiting and the hotel they'd be staying at tonight. Mike had told her not to worry about meals for Gill, since she was more than happy to take care of those. Gill was currently in the living room, finishing up her daily allotment of television time, while Ludwig was in his swing. Leni could hear the faint sounds of toys being rattled and happy coos through the baby monitor that she'd set up beside him, so there was nothing to worry about there.

And as for _herself_, she'd taken her shower earlier today while the two of them were down for their nap and had just finished up her make-up and hair. All she had left was the dress.

Although she'd wait to put that on until after Mike got here, which according to the clock should be any minute now.

She walked into the living room and immediately gained the attention of Gillian, who looked up from the television screen and broke into a bright smile. "Mutti!" She climbed down from the couch and hurried across the room, wrapping her arms around Leni's legs in a hug.

Another good reason to avoid putting the dress on just yet. Leni didn't want to have to avoid her baby's hugs just so she didn't ruin her outfit. She smiled and knelt down, pulling the squirming bundle of excitement into her arms. "Hi, Gilly. Are you ready to have fun with Mike tonight?"

Mike was honestly a saint for doing this. She'd asked Leni a while ago if she and Luca were planning anything for Valentine's Day, and when she'd responded with a no, Mike had practically _insisted_ that they make plans for the night. She was more than willing to watch Gill and Ludwig so the two of them could spend time together. Which was wonderful, since Leni couldn't even remember how long it'd been since their last actual date. It was one of the things that had just kind of stopped after Ludwig was born, particularly once Leni had returned to work.

Not that she cared most of the time, since she loved spending her time with her little angels, but she had to admit that she _was _excited. Particularly since Luca had gone to a friends' place after work today so she could spend the afternoon primping without spoiling the surprise.

Which just made the whole evening more exciting.

Gill nodded in response to her question and then took a step back and tugged on her sleeve, motioning toward the corner of the room where her drawing station was set up. "See picture, Mutti!"

Leni nodded. "Let me get Ludwig first, so he can see the picture too." He was very calmly sitting in his swing, sucking on his fingers and watching them. Although he immediately kicked his feet and popped the fingers out of his mouth when he noticed her turn her attention on him.

"And how's my little guy doing?"

He cooed and kicked again, staring up at her as she lifted him up into her arms. "You wanna see the picture that your big sister drew?"

He laid his head against her chest, fingers immediately returning to his mouth as he nuzzled against her.

"Mutti, my picture!" Gill exclaimed impatiently. Leni laughed and turned to look at the desk, which was covered in a mess of crayons and a large sheet of paper covered in blue scribbles.

"That's a pretty drawing, Gilly. Did you make it for Mike?"

Gill nodded proudly and pointed toward the biggest mess of scribbles. "Benny!"

Well, that definitely explained the blue. She turned so Ludwig was looking at the drawing. "What do you think, Luddy? Isn't your sister a great artist?"

Gill preened at the praise and then screamed "Mike!" at the sound of the doorbell ringing, hurrying as fast as her little legs could take her toward the door. "Mike! Mike!"

"Wait up, Gilly!" Leni giggled as she followed her daughter toward the door. Ludwig looked up at her and then reached up toward her ears. "No, no, baby. Don't pull on Mutti's earrings." She'd forgotten that she'd already put the dangles in... That was one thing you definitely didn't want to wear around babies.

Gillian was waiting impatiently at the front door. "Mutti! Mike!"

"I'll get it, baby." She kept one hand wrapped around Ludwig's free fist to keep him from tugging on her earring as she opened the door with the other. "Hello, Mike. Thank you so much for this."

Mike was standing on the porch with a large wrapped package held in her arms. She immediately flashed Leni a warm smile and then laughed as Gill immediately darted past her mother and attached to her leg. "Hello there, Gilly."

Gill looked up, eyes immediately widening as she noticed the package. "Cake?"

Mike had a tendency to spoil her daughter a little bit. Leni figured that it was okay, since it wasn't like any of her actual grandparents had any desire to fill that role.

The woman chuckled and reached down to ruffle Gill's hair. "I did bring cake! A special Valentine's Day cake for you to share with your Mommy and Daddy when they get back from their date!"

Gill looked like all of her wildest dreams had just come true. "Cake!" She released Mike's leg as the woman stepped into the room and then immediately grabbed onto the bottom of her skirt as if to make sure she didn't run away with the promised cake.

Mike sent Leni a smile. "I should be thanking you, Leni. You know I love spending time with Gilly and Ludwig."

She really did, too. Leni honestly had no idea what it had been that had drawn her to the woman when they'd first met. She'd been walking through the park with Gill—she'd been a tiny baby at the time, probably around the same age that Ludwig was now—when she'd noticed a woman sitting alone. Something had immediately drawn her to her, something about her posture maybe. She'd just looked so sad and broken...

She'd just lost her son. That's what she'd found out... His name had been Scotty and he'd only been twenty-three. She couldn't even imagine, especially when she considered how she'd feel if anything happened to her own babies. And Mike had lost her husband only a few years before.

This woman was probably the strongest person that Leni had ever met. It was one of the reasons why she hadn't argued against her watching the kids tonight, though. While part of her felt like she shouldn't take advantage of Mike's generosity, most of her understood that no matter how strong you were, sometimes there were nights when you needed to avoid being alone.

"All right, so I just need to get my dress on. Luca should be here soon. The emergency numbers are all written by the phone. This little guy's been chang..." And his hand suddenly escaped from her grip and he immediately latched onto the earring. "Ow!"

Thank God for Mike's fast reflexes, as she immediately darted in and grabbed the fist before he could tug. "No, no, sweetie. Don't hurt Mommy." She gently pried his fingers away from his prize and laughed, motioning toward the cake she was still holding. "Want to swap?"

"Yeah," Leni felt a little embarrassed as Mike handed her the cake and took Ludwig into her own arms. "Sorry. I forgot I had them in."

"Oh, don't worry, sweetie. Scotty managed to almost rip out my nose ring when he was a baby. Now _that _hurts like hell."

Somehow Leni didn't doubt that. "All right..." What had she been talking about? "I changed Ludwig just a little while ago and he's been fed so he should be good for a few hours. His milk is in the fridge; it's all labeled. He's gotten a lot better about taking a bottle when I'm not here, so that shouldn't be a problem. Gill's already watched TV today, so I'd rather it stay off until she's in bed..."

"That won't be a problem. Go ahead and get ready."

"Mike, I drew Benny! See! See!" Gill tugged on her skirt, motioning toward her drawing table.

That was probably Leni's cue to finish getting ready. She kissed Ludwig on the head, grateful that he seemed to be content with the trade-off, and then headed into the kitchen. The cake went on the counter, far from the edge where a certain curious little toddler might grab at it. Then she headed into her bedroom.

She'd made sure to hide the dress in the very back of their closet, where Luca would be unlikely to find it. The place where they were going for dinner tonight was very formal, which she knew Luca had done more for her than himself, since he wasn't a huge fan of formal dinnerware.

Although she rather expected that this dress would change his mind. It was probably the most gorgeous dress she'd ever owned, golden sequins, with silver around the collar and down the open back. The slit went just a _little_ past what most would consider decent. And of course she'd bought new lingerie and golden heels to complete the outfit.

She _may _enjoy dressing up for her husband just a bit. Especially when he had absolutely no idea what she was going to be wearing...

It didn't actually take that long to finish getting ready; she just had to take a couple minutes to touch up her make-up and hair and then admire herself in front of their full-length mirror and then she was ready to go.

"Pretty!"

And it really helped with a woman's self-confidence when that was the first word out of her baby girl's mouth when she walked into the living room. Mike had apparently been in the middle of showing her all the toys that she'd brought for her to play with, but now the girl's attention was completely captured by her mother.

Mike just laughed from her spot on the couch. "Poor Luca. That man isn't going to know what hit him."

And Leni grinned and spun around. "That's what I'm hoping for."

Even Ludwig was watching her from his walker, eyes wide as he watched the light shimmer off her dress. He cooed as she walked over and leaned down to give him a kiss on the top of his head. "You be good for Mike, baby. And you keep an eye on your sister."

"Shiny!" Gill grabbed at the fabric for a moment when Leni moved in to give her a kiss on the top of her head, but then released it so she could use the back of the couch to climb to her feet. Mike automatically moved her hands in front of her in case she fell.

"'Skimo kiss, Mutti!" She closed her eyes and waited.

Leni felt like the luckiest woman in the entire world as she smiled and then rubbed her nose against her daughter's... "Eskimo kiss for Gilly. You be a good girl for Mike. Mutti and Vati will be back tomorrow. I love you."

And there was the doorbell. Trust Luca to be punctual as ever. She caught a mischievous smirk from Mike as she stood upright and reached to check her hair before she turned to the door. "Bye bye, Gilly!"

"Bye bye, Mutti!"

And now was the moment of truth. Leni grinned to herself as she slowly pulled the door open.

Luca was standing on the porch, all dressed up in suit and tie—a tie which she could tell he'd definitely tied himself—and was holding a bouquet of roses. His mouth opened as if he were about to march his way into a rehearsed speech.

Except then he laid eyes on her and he _squeaked _instead, a flush immediately crossing his cheeks as he stared at her, open-mouthed.

Oh, this was going to be _wonderful._

* * *

A/N: Leni, you diabolical, wonderful woman you. XD Poor Luca (except no, that's a lie).

Also! This story is actually accurate to the timeline! Like, the timeline that I've never actually followed before. HOLY SHIT, I KNOW. ME, PAYING ATTENTION TO TIMELINES?! WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO!?

Yeah, so fun fact, Ludwig was born Oct 1995 and Gill was born Jan 1994. So they're actually almost 2 years apart in age. Does this work with ANYTHING else I've written in this series? NOPE. NOT EVEN A BIT. Math and I are not friends. Orz

I feel like I should go and actually do the math to figure out exactly how far apart everyone is in age, but then I'd probably end up depressed because the accuracy is so non-existent. (I'll probably do it anyway, though, because I want to see if I can actually make this particular story timeline accurate... Schooling will probably make that not possible, since their ages don't make any sense in regards to what grades they're in, but meh.)

If there's anyone that you particularly want to see at any particular age/point in time, let me know!

Also, the dress that Leni's wearing is gorgeous. I'll post a picture of what I based it off of on my tumblr right after I post this.


	2. Chapter 2: 2012

**The Sweets Shop**

**Part 2: Valentine's Day 2012**

Kiku was pretty sure that he was dying right now. That any minute now he was just going to pass out and that would be it for him. He wanted to speak, but he couldn't force any words out. All he could do was sit there, his heart pounding in his chest in a desperate attempt to escape, his hands sweating as he clutched at the jean fabric covering his thighs...

"Things really must have changed while you were gone. I imagine it's been difficult re-adjusting."

"I haven't really been out yet." And how could just those words cause his heart to start beating even faster? Kiku wondered if there was any possible way for him to excuse himself from the room before something awful happened.

Why was Heracles _here_? Kiku hadn't even known that he was moving back; they hadn't really spoken much since his best friend had moved to Greece six years ago. Honestly, Kiku hadn't even thought about Heracles in years... And then he'd just shown up on his doorstep less than an hour ago.

And Kiku had barely _recognised _him. Heracles had always been around Kiku's own height and he'd left when he was ten... Before puberty hit.

And puberty had been _very _good to Heracles.

God, he hadn't just thought that. Kiku wanted to hit himself, but he managed to resist. He instead reached out and lifted his teacup to his lips, focusing all of his attention on keeping the cup steady and not spilling tea all over the kotatsu.

At least his father wasn't home. That was honestly the only good thing about this whole situation. His father wouldn't be arriving home for another three hours and hopefully by then, Heracles would be long gone.

Of course, his _mother _was home right now. She'd been the one to invite Heracles in while Kiku just gawked at him as he stood on their front step. She'd greeted him, asked him if he'd like tea, invited him to sit at the kotatsu, and was now the one who was actually conversing with him.

Kiku hadn't been able to speak a single word yet, too shocked to do anything but blindly follow the two to the table and sit down. Thankfully he had practice in concealing his emotions, since neither his mother nor Heracles seemed to have noticed anything amiss yet.

He really needed to not look at him, but it was hard _not _to when he was sitting right across from him. He was _tall_. That was the first thing that his mind had been able to wrap around when he'd first laid eyes on him. He was tall and was wearing a white T-shirt despite the temperature outside. When his mother had asked, he'd said that he hadn't bought a new winter coat yet. They'd only arrived a couple days ago.

And that white T-shirt was thin enough to show pectoral muscles and he watched as the fabric rose a bit to reveal just a flash of skin as Heracles stretched his arms over his head and yawned.

"It was very nice of you to come visit Kiku today when you're still tired from the plane ride."

Heracles was always tired; Kiku was pretty sure that was one thing that wasn't about to change. He'd started dozing off almost as soon as he sat at the kotatsu, only waking up when Kiku's mother returned with the tea. And it was pretty obvious that he was close to falling asleep again.

"Mhm." Heracles now turned his attention to Kiku, who hurriedly sat up straighter in an attempt to look like he hadn't just been staring at his abs. "Wanted to come yesterday, but..." He yawned again. "Slept the whole day..."

Somehow that wasn't surprising.

"Well," Kiku's mother gave him a look like she was expecting him to finally say something. "It's very nice for you to come today."

"Y—yes." And his voice squeaked. Kiku hurriedly took another sip of tea, staring down at the table as he attempted to calm his heart.

This was honestly rather horrifying. Of course he'd figured it out. He was a sixteen-year-old male and he'd noticed rather quickly that his body was rather particular in what it found appealing. He enjoyed drawing women—he found them appealing in an aesthetic sense—but he'd never felt any sort of sexual attraction toward any of them.

Men, on the other hand...

He supposed he was lucky enough. He'd never talked to anyone about his preferences, but he knew that most of his peers were accepting of those of differing sexual orientations. After all, Gillian Beilschmidt, Arthur Kirkland, and Francis Bonnefoy were all _extremely _open about their own preferences. And while there were those who attended their school who weren't happy about it, very few people were willing to make their displeasure known.

...Mainly because it was common knowledge that Gillian and Arthur could—and would—hold their own in a fight. And that if you messed with Francis, you would soon face the wrath of Gill, Arthur, and _Antonio_.

The main problem wasn't his peers...

He suddenly startled when he realized that no one was speaking. And that both his mother and Heracles were staring at him, his mother frowning suspiciously as she looked between the two of them. And he could feel his heart start racing again, but now for a completely _different _reason.

"Ah, I am sorry. I was just thinking about something else." He set his cup back on the table and cleared his throat, turning his body to face Heracles. "I hope that your time in Greece was enjoyable?" Actually, that was something he was curious about. Why in the world was Heracles even back here? He hadn't mentioned it yet and Kiku had been too...distracted.

Heracles seemed to have to ponder this for a long moment. Then he finally said, "The ruins were nice."

"Did your parents return with you?" his mother asked.

There was another long pause. Kiku wondered if he actually had to think about these questions or if he were just that jet-lagged. Although, if he remembered correctly, Heracles had always been a very slow speaker, even as a kid.

"Dad did. Mom ran off with somebody else in Cyprus."

Oh.

Well... That left an awkward silence over the group.

Although Heracles didn't seem to be bothered. From what Kiku remembered about his mother, which honestly wasn't much, she'd never been particularly present in his life. She had a tendency to disappear for days at a time, following some grandiose dream. Kiku had asked him about it when they were much younger and Heracles had just sort of shrugged like 'that's just who she is'.

He suddenly seemed to remember something, though, as he shifted around and reached into his back pocket. And Kiku really wished he hadn't noticed the movement, as now he was finding it hard to look away.

He pulled out a small package wrapped in plain brown paper and held it out toward Kiku. "Got this for you. It was your birthday a few days ago, right?"

"Uh, yes." He slowly reached out and took the offered package.

"There's some other things too." He blinked sleepily. "It was heavy, though..."

Kiku nodded in understanding and slowly began to unwrap the gift, hyperaware of his mother's eyes on him. He couldn't help feeling excited that Heracles had actually remembered his birthday... It'd been six years and he'd actually _remembered_.

And he was surprised when he unwrapped the paper to find a tiny statue of a cat; it was made of some kind of polished, tan-coloured stone.

Heracles was staring at him, looking relaxed as Kiku turned the little cat over in his hands.

"Th—thank you." It was lovely.

"Also brought you this." And this package came from his front pocket. He held it out. "It's Valentine's Day. I brought you these."

Oh God...

Kiku knew that his face must be bright red now as he stared at the box, shaped like a heart, that he knew had to hold chocolates.

Wh—what?

He lifted his head to sneak a quick look at his mother. She looked a little startled, but maybe this could just be attributed to a culture difference. After all, Heracles had just spent the last six years in Greece.

"Ah, thank you, Heracles-san." He took the chocolates, his hands trembling slightly as he hurriedly set the box underneath the table. Out of sight as quickly as possible. "Ah, why don't I show you around the neighbourhood since you haven't yet had a chance to visit it again?"

Heracles, thankfully, nodded. Not seeming to notice the immediate tension that had sprung up at the gifting.

He, again, was thankful that his father wasn't here. He probably would have responded less favourably.

Kiku sometimes wondered if his mother may suspect. She never said anything, but she often would send him particular looks when his father mentioned young daughters of colleagues who he thought Kiku should be introduced to. Kiku felt grateful that she never mentioned it, although at the same time it didn't help relieve his worries about what his father would say or _do _if he found out the truth.

He would be angry, but what would he actually _do _about it...

Kiku stood and walked over to the closet, pulling his coat on over his sweatshirt. One of his father's was hanging up beside it. He hesitated for a moment and then pulled it off the hanger and handed it to Heracles, who had followed him. He wasn't sure that his father would approve, but they'd return before he did and it wasn't like he could let his friend freeze.

"Let's go." A cold walk would probably do him good anyway. It might clear his mind of these not-appreciated thoughts if nothing else.

* * *

A/N: So since today (Feb. 11th) is Kiku's birthday, I decided that today's Valentine's Day story should focus on Kiku! It's a bit sad, though. I feel bad for Kiku. Parents being unsupportive of their kids' sexuality sucks, as I know from personal experience. Bleh. =.=

Lots of backstory, though. Backstory is always nice. And I'm sure things will work out okay. Kiku's got good friends who love him a lot and will support him no matter what!

Since tomorrow is Antonio's birthday, that's who tomorrow's story will focus on, so be ready for that! I hope you guys are enjoying these. Please review! :) Reviews make me happy! I like to know what you guys think!


	3. Chapter 3: 2003

**The Sweets Shop**

**Part 3: Valentine's Day 2003**

"It's super unfair, Tonio!"

The sudden shout was enough to make Antonio freeze with his hands outstretched toward the little box that Francis was holding. He turned his head, eyes wide in confusion as he stared at the now-scowling Gillian standing a few feet behind him. "Huh? What's unfair, Gill?"

Francis was staring at her too, obviously just as confused as he was.

Her scowl turned into something more similar to a pout as she stomped a boot against the ground, causing slush to splash over the top of Antonio's sneakers. "You just had your birthday two days ago!"

Antonio and Francis both continued to stare at her. Finally Antonio nodded, slowly. "I did..."

"And Franny made you a cupcake then, _right_?"

Another nod. He sent a puzzled look to Francis, who just sent him an equally bemused look in response. Apparently he didn't understand why Gill was upset either.

"So how come you get another cupcake today?! That's not fair!"

Ohhh...

Antonio frowned slightly at her comment and returned his attention to the box that Francis was still holding. Inside was a cupcake, similar to the one that he'd received two days ago. It was all wrapped up in its own little box with pink tissue paper that kept it from moving around and getting ruined. The top of the cupcake had the red outline of a heart on top and a cursive 'A' written inside with pink frosting.

He supposed that it really wasn't fair. He'd just received a cupcake from Francis two days ago. And it had been a really yummy chocolate cupcake with a special raspberry filling and a cute little froggy drawn on top with green frosting...

Francis just sighed, though, and pushed the box into Antonio's hands, rubbing his own hands on the side of his jeans once Antonio had the box securely in his grip. "Gilly, of course it's fair. I made you a special cupcake on _your_ birthday last month. And you're holding your Valentine's Day cupcake in your hands right now."

That was also true... Gill _was_ currently holding a box like Antonio's, except her cupcake had a little yellow chick drawn on top that was surrounded by a bunch of balloon hearts. And Antonio remembered her birthday cupcake, which had been a chocolate cupcake with chocolate filling and lots and lots of sprinkles on top.

She pouted and clutched the box protectively. "But that was so _long _ago. I can't even remember what it tasted like!"

"Chocolate. That was definitely what it tasted like, chérie."

It had looked like a really yummy cupcake, Antonio remembered. Although he wasn't really sure that he'd have wanted a cupcake that had so much chocolate inside it. She'd ended up eating the cupcake at lunch that day and had made a _huge _mess.

"But he gets _two_ cupcakes in one week..."

Antonio frowned and then looked down at the cupcake that was he was currently holding. And then held it out toward Gill. "Do you want my cupcake, Gill? I don't mind." Well, he did, but it was okay. He wanted Gill to be happy.

"Of course not!" Francis answered first, almost sounding angry. "That's _yours_."

"I don't want your cupcake..." And Gill didn't sound very happy either.

And now Antonio was just confused.

Gill and Francis had both been acting rather strangely today. They'd both been waiting for him at the bus stop, like they usually did, and now they were walking the last couple blocks to school, like they did every morning. But neither of them seemed to be in as good a mood as usual. Which made Antonio feel sad, because it was _Valentine's Day _so why were they both upset?

"Um..." But he wasn't sure if he should mention it, because that might make them more unhappy... But they were both frowning as they walked on either side of him. Neither was speaking, which was very strange, and both of them staring down at the slushy sidewalk. Gill occasionally kicking at the chunks of ice.

"Is—" He hesitated for a moment. "Is something wrong?"

"No." They both spoke at the same time, but neither of them looked up. And Gill kicked a chunk of ice hard enough that it hit the tire of a parked car.

...Antonio was pretty sure they weren't telling the truth right now. "Umm, sorry..." Had he done something to upset them? He couldn't think what it could be. Maybe they were mad because he hadn't given them their Valentine's cards yet? But he hadn't wanted to give them to them yet because it was wet and icy and he didn't want to accidentally drop them in the slush.

Suddenly Francis sighed, looked up, and sent Antonio a slight smile. "I'm sorry, cher. It's nothing that you've done. I'm just..." He paused and then adjusted his backpack for a moment before continuing, "My parents were supposed to be coming this weekend. And I knew they probably would back out like they always do, but... They called this morning while I was still asleep and they didn't even want to talk to me. They just said 'things came up' and..." He scowled and kicked at his own chunk of ice. "Why did they even have me if they didn't want me?"

"Franny!" And Gill responded first, moving past Antonio and grabbing onto Francis's arm, hugging it tightly while pressing herself against his side. She frowned up at him. "You can't say that! Your parents are stupid and unawesome so you're _ours. _They can't have you. We're a _way_ better family than they'll ever be anyway!"

"Sí!" Antonio hurriedly moved to stand closer to his friend as well. He honestly didn't understand how Francis's parents could be so mean... Franny was really wonderful and nice and smart and it didn't make any sense for them to not want to spend time with him.

Antonio had never even _seen_ Francis's parents. Gill had said that she'd seen them once from far away. According to her, Franny's mom looked just like a grown-up girl-version of Francis, and his dad looked like a grumpy, mean jerk-face.

Francis smiled. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry I was being grumpy, Franny." Gill hugged his arm more tightly. "I was just mad 'cause my aunt's a big jerk."

"What did she do?" Antonio was glad that at least they were telling him what was wrong now.

Gill pouted, but said, "Well, Mutti and Vati went out last night on a date and Big Mike was supposed to baby-sit Ludwig and me, but she got sick so we had to go stay with my stupid aunt and uncle. And I hadn't finished my valentines yet so I was making valentines with Eli and Lizzie. And I was making a valentine for Courtney."

Ah, yes, Courtney was the girl in their class that Gill had a crush on. She was really cute and quiet and sat next to Francis and she had really pretty red hair.

"And it was an _awesome _valentine! Like the most awesome valentine ever! And then my aunt came over and she's all like 'who's that for?' and I said it was for Courtney and she's all like 'why are you making a valentine like that for a girl?' and I said 'cause I liked Courtney and I wanted her to be my girlfriend and she yelled at me and took my valentine and said that I couldn't have a girlfriend 'cause I'm a girl!" She stomped her foot now. "That's stupid and unawesome!"

"Did she give the valentine back?" Antonio knew he would be really upset if someone had stolen his valentine for Lovi. He'd worked really hard on it. Mamá had even helped him cut the heart out since he kept making mistakes.

"No! I told Mutti this morning, but we didn't have time to go and get it from my aunt. Mutti was really mad, though. Vati made me and Ludwig go outside early, but I could still hear Mutti saying lots of bad words through the windows." She hesitated for a moment, obviously distracted from her story by the memory. "I think she's gonna go yell at her today, but I didn't have time to make another valentine that was just as awesome so I had to make one that didn't have any glitter on it!"

That was so sad! Gill loved glitter!

"I'm sure Courtney will be happy with any valentine, even without glitter," Francis reassured her.

"But it would've been way more awesome _with _glitter..." She pouted and kicked at another chunk of ice. But then brightened up a little bit. "But she didn't get rid of you guys' valentines and they're _super _awesome!"

Antonio smiled. "I made your valentines almost all by myself!"

Gill grinned. "And did ya make a special one for Lovi again?"

Of course! Antonio nodded proudly. "I drew a tomato on it!"

"You _always_ draw a tomato on it."

That was because tomatoes were Lovi's favourite things. And Lovi's valentines to him were always so cute! He knew that she got them from a box and it was the same as the ones that she gave out to the rest of her classmates, but he was the only person _not _in her class who got one! Which meant that Lovi thought he was special!

And they usually had cute little cartoons on them and last year she'd given him one with a lollipop attached! Although then she'd later stolen the lollipop back because she wanted to eat it.

"Well, my awesome valentines are gonna put all of your valentines to shame!" Gill jumped ahead, right into a puddle that splashed all over Antonio again. Francis had moved back so he managed to avoid getting wet.

But that was okay, Antonio didn't really mind that much.

* * *

A/N: I'm sensing a pattern with these last few things I've written. Just a little bit of one. xD

Also, just for anyone who's wondering. Eli and Lizzie's mom technically isn't Gill's aunt. She's actually their first cousin once removed, which makes Eli and Lizzie their first cousins twice removed, but Leni and Luca figured it'd be easier to just simplify it for the kids. (Which I can't blame them, because that's just confusing even to me.)

So today was Antonio's birthday! Happy birthday Antonio!

I haven't decided yet what the actual Valentine's Day fic is going to be about. We do have someone who has a birthday on Valentine's Day, but I'll be doing his fic tomorrow instead, since I'll probably do a fic focusing on multiple people on V-Day (or an actual romantic couple? Idk. If you guys have any requests, feel free to ask.) And then... I'll do one on the 15th and a Lithuania-centric one on the 16th since I got a request for that and since it's his birthday on the 16th. And then that might be it unless people want me to continue... We shall see, I suppose.

As always, reviews are loved-loved! Thank you for those who have reviewed. It makes me very happy!


	4. Chapter 4: 1993 & 2011

**The Sweets Shop**

**Part 4: Valentine's Day 1993**

Sometimes Little Johnson wondered what it would be like to have friends...

It wasn't something that he contemplated with any regularity, but on occasion he'd find himself running the thought over in his mind. His lack of 'friends' was something that his parents brought up at least once a week. According to them, friends were important. And the fact that he didn't have any—and never _had _had any—was cause for concern.

He knew that they partially blamed it on themselves. Their home was pretty isolated; there'd never been any other kids around for him to play with besides his older brothers and he didn't go to school like them. But he didn't see how that was their fault. They had horses so they needed to live out here and he'd tried school and had hated it. It'd been loud and the teacher had scolded him constantly for not talking to her.

He'd only attended for a week before he locked himself in his room and refused to go back. His mother had talked to her sister about it and probably some other people and then she'd told him that it was okay, that she'd teach him.

Which was better. She didn't shout at him and the house had always been nice and quiet after his brothers left for school. And after he finished lessons, he'd go out with his papa and help him take care of the horses.

He liked being home and he didn't particularly care that he didn't have friends.

His brothers had friends. Curly brought his friends over all the time. Usually they'd hang out downstairs and play video games together. Big had been the same way, although his friends had been quieter, and Tall mostly brought girls home. Although usually only when their parents, Big, and Curly weren't around.

It didn't seem completely terrible to have friends, but he didn't see why everyone thought it was the most important thing in the world. Sometimes he'd stand outside the door when Curly's friends were over and listen as they played their games.

Normally their conversations were boring, although he had heard them talking about him once. They'd been in the middle of a battle when one of them said, "So, what the hell is _wrong _with your brother?"

"My brother?"

"Yeah, your younger brother. The creepy one."

Curly hadn't answered immediately; he'd heard the battle sounds continue for a few moments. Then he'd said, "Little? Nothing's wrong with him. He just doesn't like people very much."

"Dude, haven't you ever noticed how he's always creeping around and watching people? He just sits up there in that window and _stares_ at us whenever we come over..."

"He likes that window. Dad made it into a little alcove thing where he can sit... And read, I guess. I don't really know what he does up there. But, Little isn't creepy. He's just..." He'd trailed off, seemingly unsure how to finish the sentence. Then he'd laughed. "Well, he's a little weird, but that's just Little. There's nothing wrong with him."

That boy had never returned to their house.

He supposed friends were just one of those things that he didn't understand even though everyone else did... And it didn't particularly bother him most of the time.

Although, right now...

"I can't believe this. These... these..." Johnson stared out the window as he listened to his mother's irritated voice snapping over the phone wires. The snow was pretty; everything was covered in a thick, white blanket. It looked so quiet and peaceful. Although it was making Ma _very very _angry.

"They won't even tell us how long it's going to take! Half of me just wants to go get a car and _drive _home. It'd probably be faster than waiting until this...this..." She was having trouble finishing her sentences.

The snow was very pretty, but it _was_ what was keeping his family stuck in an airport. They were supposed to have arrived home yesterday afternoon, but a thick, blinding snow had started falling early in the morning and they'd ended up grounded at an airport halfway across the country.

This was why Johnson refused to set foot on an airplane. If he were the type of person to say 'I told you so', he'd probably have said 'I told you so'. His grandmother had gotten sick, which was why they'd gone out there in the first place. But it'd been so short-notice that they hadn't had time to drive and since he wouldn't get on a plane, he'd been left home.

Which he didn't mind. His uncle came over every morning and evening to help him take care of the horses and he was old enough to know how to take care of himself. It was just that...

"Are you still there, sweetie?"

"Mhm."

She sighed; at least now she sounded a little less angry. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I can't believe that this happened. Especially today..."

It wasn't like it was her fault.

"Are you doing okay? I'm so sorry that we're missing your birthday. If I'd known this was going to happen..."

"'t's fine."

"And Valentine's Day too..." She now just sounded upset. "I can't believe I let this happen."

He didn't like to hear her sounding so upset. It wasn't her fault. And he didn't really care that much. He liked being alone, even if it did feel rather strange to be alone on his birthday. Usually his family spent most of the day with him, his Ma would make a huge cake and his brothers—especially Curly—would do their best to get him to play games with them.

And while it always left him wanting to run away and hide in his room, he wasn't entirely certain that he liked this either.

Maybe that was why his parents said that friends were so important... It just felt... Unnatural to be alone right now, but he didn't have anyone else to call. Besides his uncle, who he knew would be busy with his own family and his own animals, making sure that they were all warm and protected after helping Johnson with theirs...

"I'm so sorry, honey. I'll make this up to you, I promise. I have to go. I think something's finally happening. I'll call you back when I have more news. I love you."

He nodded and listened to the sound of her hanging up.

And then lowered the phone, frowning as he turned his attention back to the window and watched as the snow continued to fall.

~.~.~

**Valentine's Day 2011**

Johnson was confused.

Not that this was something that you could probably tell by looking at him, as his expression hadn't changed since he'd opened his front door.

But he was definitely confused right now.

"Hi! Sorry, I... I should have called first. Sorry, I didn't really think about it 'til we were already here. Shit, that was stupid..."

"Bonjour, Monsieur Johnson!"

Johnson had spent his day, up until this point, just like any other. He'd woken up, made himself coffee, spent most of his morning watering the plants. The only deviation had been when he'd received a package. The usual package that he received on this date, filled with various snacks, a few shirts, some books, nicotine gum, and a birthday card signed by his ma and pa... He expected there'd be some other cards in the mail from his brothers, although he hadn't gone out to check the mailbox yet.

He'd just started making his lunch when the only unexpected deviation occurred. The doorbell rang.

Not that the doorbell _never _rang, but usually the only people who ever came here were little girls selling cookies or Jehovah's Witnesses trying to sell religion. He didn't receive any other types of visitors. His neighbours usually avoided him and there weren't any other people that he knew who would just show up at this house without warning. And usually the Girl Scouts avoided sending their girls out in sub-zero temperatures...

So he'd turned off the stove and walked to the door, not entirely sure what he was expecting.

He hadn't been expecting to see Leon standing on his porch, covered in a thin layer of snow with a large box in his arms and a nervous smile on his face.

"Hi!" He'd started stammering and shifting his weight nervously while Johnson ignored his actual words in favour of noticing the other person on his porch. Francis Bonnefoy, who was standing a few feet behind Leon and grinning in obvious amusement.

"Bonjour, Monsieur Johnson!" He'd waved a mittened hand at him as Leon shifted enough to regain Johnson's attention.

Why were they here?

He supposed that he wasn't _entirely_ shocked by Leon's random presence. He must need to talk about something for work, although Johnson didn't know what he'd need to talk to him about at his own home. Or why he'd brought Francis.

Although Leon _had _mentioned that Francis was starting to spend the nights in his apartment more often than not nowadays. Johnson remembered that he'd seemed rather unsure about the whole situation and had kept tapping his pen against the car door as he spoke.

"Um, so your mom called me..."

And _that _was definitely not something that Johnson had expected Leon to say.

He flushed slightly as Johnson's attention now completely turned to him and shifted the box in his hands nervously. It was a rather large box. "I mean, I was a little surprised... She's called a few times to talk to me. Not necessarily about you! She's just really nice and...stuff..." He trailed off and then hurriedly continued, "Um, but she told me that today's your birthday. And I mean, I know you never told me that it was your birthday and she said you don't really celebrate it, but... I... um..."

And this was when Francis stepped in, moving forward and smirking, "We made you a cake! Well, technically _I _made you a cake, but since it was cher Leon's idea, I think he should get at least some of the credit. I wasn't sure what type of cake you liked so I went with a vanilla cake with tiramisu buttercream and a chocolate ganache filling. I've never had anyone dislike that recipe."

"I told him to go with something simple and that's what he came up with." Leon rolled his eyes and then held out the box. "Um, I really hope you like it. I mean, even if you don't celebrate your birthday, it's okay to have cake, right?"

"You could just say it's a Valentine's Day cake!" Francis seemed to be enjoying this.

Johnson was...confused. Very confused, although he did reach out and take the box. Leon hesitated for a moment, possibly confused about what to do with his hands. Then he shoved them into his pockets and took a step back. "Well, we should probably get going. I didn't want to bug you, but I thought... I thought you might like something."

And that was when Johnson spoke, actually managing to startle himself. "Can come in."

Francis and Leon both looked surprised at that. "You sure?" Leon finally asked, and then smiled slightly. "Yeah, sure. I wouldn't mind staying. What about you, Fran?"

Francis grinned. "Of course, cher. After all, I always enjoy watching someone enjoying something that I've made for them. My date isn't until seven anyway, so we have plenty of time. Besides, I'm cold."

This was definitely not how Johnson had expected his day to go, but... He didn't mind.

* * *

A/N: Aww, Johnson. You made friends! Cute friends who bring you cake. :D

Haha, so this was supposed to be done yesterday but obviously that didn't happen, so... Happy Valentine's Day! And happy birthday Johnson! Because I just had to make Johnson a Valentine's Day baby. I mean, really. It was too perfect.

Hope you all enjoyed your V-Day, whether you had a romantic special someone or not! I love you all tons and tons!

So I had a request for a Lithuania-related fic and one for a Francis/Leon one, so I'll do at least those two. If anyone else has any requests, then send them my way and I'll try to get to them in the next few days as I finish up this story. (Or at least finish it up for now. I may come back to it later, who knows? There's really no end to the possibilities.)

ALSO, there is a Pleasantville timeline! It's not actually finished yet, but since I've got all of the important dates up (and the fact that this next bit I gotta do is gonna take forever and mainly just involves summaries of the characters/events, which most people already know) I figured I'd give y'all the link. Which can be found on my profile here and will also be uploaded to tumblr.


	5. Chapter 5: 2014

**The Sweets Shop**

**Part 5: Valentine's Day 2014**

"Do you think it's safe to go out yet?"

Leon's partner-in-crime seemed to consider this question very intensely, her face screwing up in thought for a moment before she shook her head. "No."

"Hmm, what do you think we should do then?"

There was another long moment of decision as Leon shifted his weight slightly. It hurt a bit to lay on his side like this for long periods of time, so he was kind of hoping that she'd decide soon that it was time to brave the outside world.

"Ned," she finally decided, nodding as she reached toward the toy lobster. "Ned can go."

"Ah," Leon nodded. "He'll take care of the monsters?"

She nodded again and gently pushed the toy out from underneath the blanket that served as the entrance to their 'fort'.

This was probably not going to be the most fun thing to clean up later, since Leon had sort of taken just about every single piece of furniture in his apartment—and every blanket and pillow he owned—to create the fort. But eh, Kaylin seemed to be enjoying it.

Although he kind of wished it was taller. She had no problem sitting upright, since she was four, but it wasn't really large enough for an adult to sit without having to keep his head bent uncomfortably. Right now he was just hoping that Ned gave the all clear, 'cause he was pretty sure his hip was falling asleep from laying on it like this.

Except he suddenly heard the sound of a key turning in the lock and then the door opening. And then there was silence for a long moment...

"Cher, what did you do to the apartment?"

What the heck was Francis doing home already? He'd told Leon that he was out on a date, which meant that Leon hadn't expected him back until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest.

Kaylin seemed unsure of how to respond to the voice coming from outside their hiding place. She turned toward Leon, her eyes wide in the dim light.

Well... He squirmed forward a bit to peak out through a crack left in the blanket entrance. Ned was currently sitting outside the fort like a good little sentinel. He could see Francis standing in the doorway, although he hadn't seemed to figure out where they were yet, as he just seemed completely confused by the change in the apartment's layout.

He was also swaying, keeping a hand against the wall...

So he'd probably been drinking.

Leon crept back into the fort and turned to Kaylin. "I think it's the monster's leader."

Her eyes widened even more.

Oh, this was going to be hilarious. "Yes, that's definitely the monster's leader. We're going to have to be very sneaky to capture him."

She nodded, grabbing onto her bunny and hugging it tightly against her chest as she waited for his orders.

He could hear Francis starting to move around the apartment, his footsteps definitely not quite as steady as usual. "Cher? What in the world— Why are there stuffed animals everywhere?"

It was hard to keep from laughing as he whispered softly, "All right, you and Bunny go sneak out the back and grab the monster's legs from behind while Ned and I distract him."

She nodded fiercely and immediately turned around, crawling under the blanket at the back of the hideout.

It was a bit hard to crawl out of the hideout, but he managed it without any major injuries. And slowly pulled himself to his feet, feeling his knees crack uncomfortably in the process. Geez, he couldn't already be getting too old for this. "Hey, Fran!"

Francis honestly looked like he was wondering whether he'd just stepped into an old Twilight Zone episode. He hadn't moved too far from the door yet and was just standing there, staring at the apartment with the most confused expression Leon had ever seen on his face. And now he looked at Leon like he'd just appeared with a couple extra heads.

"Hello?" He also sounded like he was wondering whether Leon had completely lost it. "Why is the apartment..."

"I just thought I'd do some redecorating." He very casually slipped his hands into his hoodie's pocket as he leaned back on his heels. Kaylin was currently creeping around behind Francis, dragging a blanket behind her while clinging to her bunny with her free hand. "What do you think?"

"...The couch is upside down." And Leon could tell that Francis was starting to get suspicious, as his eyes narrowed slightly. Even while definitely more than a bit tipsy, Fran wasn't stupid.

Which was when Kaylin decided to strike, throwing the blanket up at Francis's head while attaching herself to his legs. "Gotcha, monster!"

The blanket didn't actually reach his head, so Leon helped. Hurrying over to the fort and grabbed one of the blankets from on top, tossing it over Francis's head and laughing at his startled yelp. "We've apprehended the monster, Kay. What should we do with it now?"

Francis stumbled into the wall and Kaylin released him to join Leon, hiding behind his legs as Francis tugged the blanket from over his head and sent them a hilariously bewildered look.

"Emergency, Kay! It looks like the monster's escaped from our trap!" Not that it'd really been that great of a plan, let's be real.

Kaylin stared at Francis with big eyes as he just stood there, obviously trying to figure out what had just happened. He stared at Leon for a moment and then suddenly grinned, turning his attention to the girl, who squeaked and squeezed herself even farther behind Leon's legs. "You! The hero Kaylin, how dare you try to capture me?" He bent over, using the wall to support himself as he grabbed the blanket that had fallen by his feet. And then proceeded to tie it around his neck to create a cape.

Leon had to laugh as Francis almost knocked himself off balance, but managed to catch himself at the last second and then swished the cape-blanket over his shoulder. "I am the Monster King and I'm going to eat all heroes who try to stop me." Then he took a step forward.

"Oh no, Kaylin, run from the Monster King!"

And she immediately shrieked and took off, giggling hysterically as Francis tipsily ran after her.

Okay, he was definitely getting a video of this.

It was probably the most intense chase sequence that had ever occurred inside this tiny apartment. Probably also the most destructive, as neither Francis nor Kaylin has the best balance right now and managed to almost completely destroy the fort. Leon had to hurriedly move all of their stuffed animal troops out of the way to keep them from getting crushed underfoot, keeping Ned in his own arms where it was probably safest.

They'd probably get complaints from neighbours later, but it was hard to really care about that when they were a hysterically laughing, gasping mess sitting on the very out-of-place and cushionless couch a while later. Francis had been the first to concede defeat, dropping onto the couch beside Leon, barely able to breathe as he laughed.

Kaylin had immediately joined them, climbing up into Leon's lap and cuddling against his chest. She also stole Ned out of his hands and set him next to Bunny.

"So, what does this mean for our Hero and Monster King?" Leon asked. "Is it a truce?"

Kaylin sleepily blinked over at Francis, who grinned and reached out to pat Bunny on the head. "I think the Monster King is going to concede defeat to the very brave and adorable hero today. But she'd better watch out, because next time she may not be so lucky."

"Because next time he won't have been drinking quite so much?"

Francis smirked and moved so he was leaning against Leon's shoulder, yawning. "In my defense, I didn't realise that I was going to get ambushed as soon as I set foot inside my apartment."

"I thought you had a date tonight, anyway. What are you doing back so early?"

Leon felt Francis tense slightly at the question and then he relaxed again, reaching out to stroke Ned's claw. "I did..."

"Did it not go well?"

He shrugged. "Not... exactly."

Okay... Vague. Francis stretched his legs out and then tucked one of them underneath Leon's. Then he said, "It wasn't bad. I just... wasn't really interested in her, I guess. We had dinner and then we just mutually agreed to go our separate ways. I stopped in a bar and then took a taxi home."

"Well, that's good at least." Better than him trying to walk home or anything like that. "And at least it was a mutual agreement."

"Mhm." He scooted closer, yawning again as he leaned more of his weight against Leon. "This was fun."

"Yeah." Kaylin was starting to doze off too, her Bunny captured in a death grip that would have choked a living creature. "It was."

And... he had apparently been elected as this evening's pillow. And considering the position he was sitting in right now, he was pretty sure he was going to be in quite a bit of discomfort tomorrow morning. But, such was life, he supposed.

* * *

A/N: Francis and Leon need to get married and adopt babies. This is what I decided while writing this. They need to get married _right now _and adopt babies and have an adorable family.

I will accept no arguments.

Also today was Toris's birthday! Happy birthday, Toris! I would've done your fic today but I'd already started this one and hadn't finished it on the 15th because... reasons? I don't remember. I think it was because I was cold. It's really cold here.

Okay, so there will still be a Toris one, a Gill &amp; Mattie one and then I think that's all the requests I've gotten so... That may be it unless anyone has any more requests!


	6. Chapter 6: 2011

**The Sweets Shop**

**Part 6: Valentine's Day 2011**

Francis Bonnefoy loved Valentine's Day.

This was a fact that would probably fail to surprise anyone who knew him well. It was a holiday that solely existed to celebrate the thing he loved more than anything else in the world—_l'amour_—so of course he adored it. He had a perfect excuse to give his friends chocolates and roses and he could stand around and watch happy couples being cuddly and adorable. It was a nice holiday.

Those weren't the only reasons why he liked the holiday, though. There was at least one other major one, which some may consider to go against the spirit of the day but how could anyone blame him?

That reason was named Arthur Kirkland.

Because Arthur _hated _Valentine's Day with an intensity that absolutely _fascinated _Francis.

Of course, Arthur wasn't really one for holidays in general. He was always complaining about their commercialism. Especially Christmas, which he'd grumble about every year. It always felt like he was spending a good ninety percent of the season complaining about people's false altruism and greed and Francis's Christmas sweaters. He had no problem with New Year's of course, because getting drunk was one of Arthur's favourite things to do. But then Valentine's Day would come and in Arthur's mind, Valentine's Day's existence was unforgivable.

It had actually taken Francis a while to figure out _why _exactly he hated the holiday so much. He'd listened to his complaints and thought through what else he knew about Arthur and eventually hit on an explanation.

It was actually rather adorable, because as much as Arthur may try to deny it, he was in fact a _complete_ romantic at heart. The reason why he hated Valentine's Day with such intensity was because it too was rather commercialized. And commercializing a holiday celebrating love offended sweet Arthur's sensibilities so much that he was ready to go to _war _with the entire holiday.

It was a mentality that Francis could understand. He himself had decided a long time ago to ignore the stores' rather obnoxious attempts to bank on _l'amour_, but he could understand that for someone as stubborn as Arthur, that just wasn't an option.

Just because he _understood_, though, didn't mean that he wasn't going to use this knowledge to annoy the _shit _out of his dear friend.

Every year, Francis spent the day wandering around the school between classes, handing out roses, kisses, and chocolates. Arthur, in return, would do everything possible to avoid him. It ended up being an incredibly-entertaining game of cat and mouse, which Francis _always _won.

Except, this year.

And Francis was _not _happy about that. It was currently three o'clock in the afternoon on Valentine's Day. The last class of the day had just let out, releasing hundreds of students to converge in the hallways. Most were rushing about, wanting to get home as soon as possible. Some dawdled a bit more, probably those with afterschool activities or who were being picked up by parents.

Francis himself was leaning against the wall beside his locker.

He hadn't seen Arthur today. Not _once_.

Which was strange. Francis, of course, knew Arthur's schedule and he'd shown up outside his classroom on a few separate occasions with a rose in hand and his box of chocolates. But, according to his classmates, Arthur hadn't actually attended classes today.

Which led to the reasonable assumption that he was absent, but then he'd talked to some other students and they'd said that they'd _definitely _seen him in the school building. They said he'd been rushing and they hadn't paid enough attention to see where he was going.

So he was skipping?

That didn't seem like Arthur, though. At least, not the Arthur who existed right now. He'd left _those_ days behind him years ago and apparently decided to head so far in the other direction that he was practically living on a different planet. He was now the model student, the council president, always offering to do extra work, a teacher's pet…

Francis was confused and he didn't like it.

"Oi, Franny! Earth to Franny!"

He was suddenly startled from his thoughts by a loud voice shouting _right_ in his ear. He jerked away, startled, and then realized that Gill was standing in front of him. Smirking with her arm thrown around the shoulders of a girl who looked like she'd rather be anywhere else right now.

She laughed. "Dude, what planet were you on, Franny-kins? I was calling your name from all the way down the hall and you're like off in lala-land."

"Ah, sorry, Gilly." She'd been calling him and he hadn't noticed? That was actually rather impressive. "I was thinking about something."

Gill rolled her eyes, "Well, duh," and then made a wiggly motion with the arm around the other girl to move his attention to her presence. "I told Mattie here that she could come join us at our Single's Awareness party tonight, if that's cool with you? I told her that she could be Toni's replacement since he betrayed us."

Ah, yes. Mattie. Francis had forgotten the girl's name for a moment. She was Allison Jones' sister.

He gave her a once over. Cute, but she was definitely dressed like she wasn't super comfortable with people noticing her. She had on an oversized pink sweater and a pair of light blue jeans that were doing their very best to hide her figure. They weren't quite succeeding, though, and he could tell she had a nice, full figure. Her hair was longer than her sister's, but the same shade of blonde. Couldn't really see her face, since she was staring at the ground, but it was probably pretty cute too.

He was interrupted from his thoughts again, this time by Gill clearing her throat. He returned his attention back to her and was shocked to see that she was _glaring _at him.

She tightened her grip around the other girl's shoulders, earning her a startled squeak, but continued to stare straight at Francis as she continued. "_Anyway_, it's gonna be at your house like usual, right?"

He blinked, but nodded. "Yes. At nine."

"Awesome, we'll both be there then." She tilted her head slightly, then sent Francis a smile that was all teeth. "You find Artie yet?"

He shook his head. "Non. I really have no idea where he could have gone. He wasn't in any of his classes. At least, none of the ones after fourth period."

"Isn't he with Ally?"

The girl's voice was very soft, but he did manage to catch what she said. "With Ally?"

She moved slightly behind Gill when he turned his attention fully on her, as if she regretted speaking up, but she did nod. "Um, I think so… Ally said that she wasn't coming home on the bus today and I'm pretty sure she said it was because she was helping Arthur in the gymnasium with taking decorations down."

Oh… Well, that would explain it. Francis had completely forgotten about Saturday's Valentine's Day dance and the fact that Arthur was generally the person in charge of clean-up. He vaguely remembered Arthur complaining about something related to that when he was over this weekend, but he hadn't really been listening to what he said.

Gill frowned. "They seriously let Artie out of class for clean-up duty? That's totally unawesome. I wanna skip class."

Yes, now he remembered. Arthur had definitely mentioned something about his classes and clean up duty when he was over. Francis just hadn't been paying much attention because he'd been…more focused on other things at the time.

Well, now he knew where Arthur was. He flashed Gill and Mattie a smile as he pushed himself away from the wall. "Well, I'd better pay him a visit then. I'll see you later tonight."

Oh, and he wasn't going to forget about the way Gill acted when he was looking Mattie over. Apparently his friend had already staked her claim on the other girl. Which was fine, since she wasn't really his type anyway. It was cute; he'd definitely have to keep an eye on how things progressed.

For now, though, he had a different mission. He definitely wasn't going to let Arthur get away with avoiding him all day. He should know better.

He walked as quickly as he could toward the gymnasium. Ally had said that she wasn't going to be riding the bus so he was probably still there, but Francis didn't want to risk missing him. Besides, if he was too late to the pick-up area then his chauffeur would probably get nervous and try calling him and he didn't really want to deal with him right now.

No one else was around when he stopped by the doors to the gymnasium and glanced inside. It looked like they were almost finished with their work, since there were more streamers and paper hearts lying on the floor than there were hanging from the ceiling or walls. He was rather disappointed that he couldn't see Ally or Arthur from where he was standing, though.

Hmm, they probably were in there and just not visible. Problem was, if he entered the room from here, then Arthur would see him almost immediately and he wouldn't have the element of surprise in his favour. That would take away at least half of the fun. It was always much more entertaining when he snuck up on his friend.

There was another entrance through the locker room, although he generally avoided that area after school and when he was alone, since there were a number of boys on the sports teams who didn't particularly like him. To put it mildly. He was pretty sure that none of the boys' sports teams had practice today, though, so it should be empty.

He hesitated for another moment. The risk of potentially getting jumped was a definite deterrent, but if there was someone in there, he could always leave before they noticed him.

It should be fine. He shifted the weight of his backpack and then headed toward the entrance to the locker room, opening it slowly with his shoulder as he quickly glanced around the room. He didn't see anyone, so he stepped fully inside and slowly closed the door so it didn't slam.

Then he began to walk toward the entrance to the gym, careful to not make any noise.

But then he stopped; he'd heard something…

"You git. I told you to be careful."

Well, looks like he found Arthur.

"I _was_ being careful. I just slipped. It's really distracting when you're yelling at me to be careful when I am being careful."

And Allison was with him.

It sounded like they were over near the toilets. Francis began to move toward them, even slower and quieter than before. There wouldn't be anyone else in here; Arthur wouldn't bring her into the guy's locker room if there was a chance of anyone else being in the room.

"Well, you obviously weren't being careful enough." His voice was a strange combination of irritated and worried. There was a moment of silence. "Are you sure you don't need the nurse? I think it's swelling."

"It's fine. I've sprained my ankle plenty of times. It's no big deal. I've just gotta wrap it up in ice when I get home."

Francis could see them now. Ally was sitting on the bench facing the bathroom stalls, while Arthur was kneeling in front of her with her right leg held in his hands. He was holding a wet towel, which he was now winding around her ankle. "Now you know to be more cautious when you're standing on ladders, at least."

"Dude, you sound like my mom." She rolled her eyes and twisted her head away.

And was suddenly looking straight at Francis.

He'd kind of forgotten about hiding, but this was fine. He grinned and then placed his finger against his lips in a shushing motion.

Ally liked messing around with Arthur almost as much as he did. She stared at him for a moment, but then a smile twitched across her lips and she turned back to Arthur. "Or should I say 'You sound like my mummy.'"

He scowled at her as Francis moved behind him and Ally did a wonderful job of keeping him distracted. He didn't notice as Francis crept up behind him. Not until he pounced with a loud, "Bonjour, cher!" He hurriedly wrapped his arms around Arthur in a suffocating hug. "Happy Valentine's Day! I finally found you!"

Arthur nearly jumped out of his skin. "What the fuck?! Francis, you fucking—!"

"Language, cher!" Ally was laughing hysterically as Arthur attempted to turn around to throttle him. There was no way he was letting go so he could do that, though. He just squeezed more tightly. "There's a lady present!"

"I am going to fucking _kill _you!"

Arthur had such a temper. It was unfortunate, especially with such a lovely lady present. Although she didn't seem to mind the language, as she just continued laughing.

"Now, now," he decided that it'd be safer to release him than continue to hold on and anger him more. He held out his hands in surrender. "You say that to someone on the day of l'amour? And I brought you a present too." He pouted and turned to Ally. "You see how cruel my cher ami can be?"

She smirked. "Aw, don't be mean, Artie."

One very amusing thing that Francis had been noticing recently was that Arthur seemed to be very susceptible to pretty Allison's smiles and requests. He visibly deflated at her words, although he did still send Francis a look that promised future revenge. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

He'd just _said_ why he was here. Ah, well, Arthur wasn't known for listening very well. He sighed, then moved to sit on the bench beside Ally—there was no way he was kneeling on this filthy floor—and began to rummage through his backpack. He pulled out two slightly-squashed roses, one of which went to Ally with a wink, and a bag of chocolates. He handed the second rose and chocolates to his friend, who glared at them like he'd just handed him a dead rat.

"I made those last night." He noticed with amusement that Ally was giving the chocolates a look of pure lust. "Make sure that you share them with Ally. A gentleman should _always_ share his chocolates with a beautiful woman, especially when she's injured."

Arthur scowled at him. "I don't want your fucking chocolates." Then he tossed the baggie to Ally, who caught it and then stared at the chocolates like she wasn't entirely sure if she should accept them or not. Francis could visibly see when she made the decision of 'Eh, not gonna turn down free chocolate.'

She was adorable. She opened the baggie and popped a chocolate in her mouth; her face lit up in delight. "Dude, these are awesome!"

Very adorable. "See, at least someone _appreciates_ my hard work." He rather doubted that Arthur would let her eat all of them. He knew that Arthur _loved _his chocolates, despite his attempts at denial.

Anyway, speaking of her injury. He turned his attention to her ankle, which definitely looked swollen. "So, what happened?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Git wasn't being careful and fell off the ladder. Thankfully she wasn't very high off the ground, but she still managed to hurt herself."

Ally made a waving motion of dismissal, then tossed another chocolate in her mouth. "Dude, I told you. It's fine."

It didn't really look fine. Not that Francis knew a _lot _about injuries, but he was pretty sure that it wasn't a good sign when one ankle was nearly twice the size of the other. Arguing with Ally probably wouldn't get them anywhere, though, so he'd have to be a bit creative. "Hmm, it still seems like it'd be a good idea for you to get home right away."

Ally frowned. "I gotta help Artie finish up, though."

"I can do that. It won't be a problem." And now for his secret weapon to help convince her. "I could always have the limousine driver take you home."

And that was enough to get her to quiet. She stopped chewing and her eyes widened. "A limo?"

There you go. "Oui. He's probably waiting outside right now. I can just have him come around to this entrance and take you home."

It was pretty lucky that he had the limo today. Normally, Francis would just drive himself home or his driver would pick him up in their 'normal' car. But that car was in the shop and the car he usually drove had been giving him trouble this morning, so he'd just taken the bus to school and called his driver to just pick him up in whatever car was available, which turned out to be the limo.

He'd call Leon to come pick him up when he was finished with the gym, so it wouldn't be any trouble. Leon had been planning on taking the cake Francis baked over to Johnson's sometime this afternoon anyway.

Ally looked torn. She glanced down at the baggie of chocolates, then at her ankle, then at the door to the gymnasium. Then she sighed. "Okay. I'll go home. But you gotta promise to help Artie!"

Arthur scowled, of course. "I don't need his help. There isn't that much left to do."

Ah, Arthur. Francis shook his head. "Non, non. I will definitely help you. Leaving you here to finish the job all by yourself would not be fair, after all."

Besides, he needed alone time with Arthur so he could start teasing him about his response to lovely Allison's smiles.

* * *

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! So this was just a quick fic for today because Valentine's Day fics are important and Ally and Arthur are cuties.

I actually really like Ally, Arthur, and Fran's interactions when they're all together. I don't think I've written them together all that often, but it's fun. Arthur totally gets ganged up on. Of course. Also, this timeline-wise would take place 2 days after the events of "And It's Supposed to be the Day of Love". Or, those events from that story that are still canon. xD Which aren't many, really. Haha.

Reviews are always appreciated! They make me very happy~


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